UNITY, Maine — Police arrested a husband and his wife last week after another woman reported that the man — her ex-boyfriend — had allegedly physically assaulted her.

Marlin Traynum, 43, of Unity had supposedly offered his former girlfriend a place to stay when she needed one, she told police, according to Chief Deputy Jeff Trafton of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office. But when she arrived at his residence on Thursday, Traynum began yelling obscenities at her before she had gotten out of her vehicle, she told police.

“Things went downhill from there,” Trafton said Monday.

The woman told police that Traynum grabbed her, tried to choke her and tried to poke her in the eye through the window of her vehicle. She thought he tried to damage her hands because she is an artist and that would get in the way of her making a living, she told officers later.

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The woman was able to get away and drove herself to the Fairfield Police Department to report the assault. She had scratches on the right side of her neck, Trafton said. The woman went to a hospital in Waterville for treatment of her injuries, which he said were not considered life-threatening.

When police interviewed Traynum, he told them a very different version of events. He said that the woman showed up, pounded on the door and attacked his wife. He had to fight her off to defend his home and wife, he told officers, according to Trafton.

However, police arrested and charged him with domestic violence terrorizing and domestic violence assault. They also learned that his wife, Lindsay Philbrick, 27, whose last given address was listed as Sidney, had bail conditions against her from a previous offense.

One of those conditions was that she have no contact with Traynum. So police charged her with violating her conditions of release, Trafton said.